Tea Partiers Rally Against ... Lower Taxes

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Today at noon, hundreds of Tea Party members will gather in Daley Plaza to express their outrage about … paying lower taxes than they’ve paid in years.

As part of last year’s economic stimulus package, Congress cut federal taxes by $232 billion. And many of President George W. Bush’s tax cuts are still on the books. In fact, thanks to a loophole, the estate tax -- much reviled by Republicans as the “death tax” -- doesn’t even exist in 2010.

If the wealthy grandfather who made millions in the shoe repair business dies this year and leaves you all his money, you can keep the entire inheritance.

So why are these people pig-biting mad about paying lower taxes? Maybe because of who’ll be collecting those taxes -- a radical socialist who wasn’t even born in the United States! -- and who he’ll be spending the money on. According to a New York Times survey, most Tea Partiers think the amount of taxes they’re paying this year is fair, but “more than half say the policies of the administration favor the poor, and 25 percent think that the administration favors blacks over whites — compared with 11 percent of the general public.”

High taxes alone aren’t enough to cause discontent. Denmark is the most heavily taxed nation in the world, but according to many surveys, it is also the happiest. That’s because Denmark is a small, homogenous society -- “a tribe,” as some Danes put it. Danes feel their tax dollars are being spent on friends, neighbors and relatives.

Today’s rally is a protest against President Obama’s health care reform bill. The theme is “Repeal It. Replace It.” They're right, in part: Health care reform will lead to higher taxes. But, those taxes will mainly hit individuals earning over $200,000 a year.

Although The New York Times found that Tea Partiers are wealthier than the general public, anyone earning that much scratch is probably too busy to make it downtown to a Tea Party.